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The Hauser Report: The Meaning of Crawford-Porter

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On Saturday night, November 20, Terence Crawford successfully defended his WBO 147-pound title with a tenth-round knockout of Shawn Porter before a sold-out crowd of 11,568 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. It was a statement win for Crawford that boxing fans hope will pave the way for more and bigger career-defining fights in the future.

Crawford came into the bout recognized as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. His record stood at 37-0 with 28 knockouts. But at age 34, he didn’t have a defining fight on his resume. As Jimmy Tobin wrote after Terence’s fourth-round stoppage of a faded Kell Brook last year, “No one seriously denies Crawford’s talent, but no one seriously denies he is squandering it.” Bart Barry noted, “Just because he has been near the top of abstract rankings for a couple years doesn’t mean his reign has been a good one.”

Crawford moved into the public eye with eleven fights on HBO during a fifty-month span that ended on May 20, 2017. The opponents were learning experiences, some more challenging than others. Terence did what he was supposed to do against them.

Then Crawford’s activity level dropped. Over the next 54 months, he had only six fights. In the first – against Julius Indongo – he unified the four major 140-pound belts with an impressive third-round stoppage. But Indongo has now been knocked out in four of his last five outings.

After beating Indongo, Crawford moved up to 147 pounds and dominated a mix of past-their-prime names (Brook and Amir Khan) and marginal opponents (Jeff Horn, Jose Benavidez, and Egidijus Kavaliauskas). He’d been on the sidelines for more than a year before fighting Porter.

Why hasn’t the superbly talented Crawford become a star?

For starters, the reality of boxing is that very few stars have been made since HBO dropped out of the business. One might ask why ESPN can’t make stars in the sweet science? After all, ESPN has a much larger platform than HBO ever had. And it has money. In addition to advertising revenue and monthly payments from cable system operators, ESPN receives income from more than seventeen million people who subscribe to ESPN+. Within this framework, it pays Top Rank a reported $84 million annually in license fees for fights pursuant to a seven-year contract.

But long-term output deals with a promoter are often counterproductive for a network because they take away the network’s biggest bargaining chip – the date. And they encourage the practice of fighters only fighting opponents who are under the same promotional umbrella (a practice akin to the inbred insanity that once accompanied members of royal families in Europe marrying their own cousins).

One key to HBO’s success was that its boxing program was open to all promoters. That encouraged star-making fights. Indeed, one reason for the decline of HBO’s boxing program was that there came a time when it forged an alliance with Al Haymon and gave Haymon’s fighters preferential treatment in a way that wasn’t in HBO’s best interests and worked against the best fighting the best.

These forces came to a head for Crawford after his November 14, 2020, knockout of Kell

Brook. Bob Arum (Terence’s promoter) was asked by The Athletic about Crawford’s   future with Top Rank and, clearly frustrated, responded, “He’s got to promote like {Teofimo} Lopez does. He’s got to promote like Shakur {Stevenson} does, like Mayweather did, like Pacquiao did. If he doesn’t, then who the f*** needs him? He may be the greatest fighter in the world. But hey, I ain’t going bankrupt promoting him. I could build a house in Beverly Hills on the money I’ve lost on him in the last three fights, a beautiful home. Nobody questions Crawford’s tremendous ability. The question is, ‘Does he pay the bills?'”

Four days later, Crawford responded during a SiriusXM interview. Some of his comments were confrontational. “It pissed me off because I’m one of the most loyal people,” Terence said. “For him to say some foolish sh** like that, it made me look at him a totally different way. Release me now and you don’t have to lose money no more. I’m not a promoter. What am I? A fighter. I get paid to fight, I don’t get paid to promote. He gets paid to promote. He’s supposed to promote me. I always felt like I was set up from the jump so they didn’t have to pay me the money that I deserved. I used to take pay cuts because I didn’t care about the money. Now he’s going to pay me more [than] the [contractual] minimum every single time that I fight because I deserve it. You’re going to pay me what I’m worth.”

But Crawford also struck a conciliatory note, saying, “I can’t bash Bob Arum and Top Rank. They gave me the opportunity to accomplish everything in my career. I know deep down in my heart that Bob really is a good dude and he really did try everything possible in his will to get these fights I was asking for. I don’t know what made him come out and say all of the negative stuff he said about me. I have a lot of things going through my head right now. I don’t really like to talk about it because I’m not the kind of person to put my business in the streets. If I ever had a problem with Bob Arum and Top Rank, I always went to them. We may have a disagreement right now. We’re going through some trials and tribulations, but we’re gonna get it figured out. Top Rank is the company I am with right now, but who knows what the future may hold.”

Money can soothe hurt feelings. Top Rank’s relationship with Teofimo Lopez is Exhibit A for that proposition. But Top Rank built Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, and Miguel Cotto to super-stardom, shepherded Manny Pacquiao through his glory years, and lost all of them. That’s the nature of boxing. So, with time running out on its contract with Crawford, Top Rank matched Terence against Shawn Porter.

Porter had compiled a 31-3-1 (17 KOs) record that included victories over Devon Alexander, Paulie Malignaggi, Adrien Broner, Andre Berto, Danny Garcia, and Yordenis Ugas. But he’d lost his three biggest fights – against Kell Brook, Keith Thurman, and Errol Spence.

On the business side of things, Porter was promoted by Al Haymon (Arum’s archrival in recent years). But Haymon was willing to cede control of Crawford-Porter to Top Rank. And Terence was likely to leave Top Rank once his contractual obligation to the promoter was fulfilled (which it now has been). So, from Arum’s point of view, why not make the fight?

Meanwhile, from Haymon’s point of view, an upset would increase Porter’s marketability. And let’s not forget, Haymon would love to sign Crawford.

The build-up to Crawford-Porter was largely about Crawford. Porter is a class act and a good fighter who has always been willing to go in tough. But in terms of marketability, his ring losses had put a ceiling on how high he could climb.

There was also a question as to what Porter would bring to the ring on fight night. He’d fought only once in the preceding 26 months – an uninspiring win by decision over the justifiably unheralded Sebastian Formella. Indeed, some observers regarded Porter largely as a measuring stick for Crawford. Terence opened as a 4-to-1 betting favorite and the odds moved as high as 6-to-1. Yes, Porter was “always dangerous.” And this was an opportunity for him to reboot. But at age 35, could he compete with Crawford?

Terence thought not. “I respect everything that Shawn does,” Crawford said at the final pre-fight press conference. “Shawn is athletic. He can box. He can bang. He can move around in the ring. He can cut corners and take angles. I’m just going to say that I do a lot of things better than Shawn.”

When fight night came, Porter fought as hoped for, applying pressure as best he could. Crawford was simply better.

Terence is a complete fighter, who shifts seamlessly from orthodox to southpaw. He now has “man strength” to go with his skills.  He’s no longer just a slick boxer; he’s a puncher. With an attitude. And he keeps his strength as a fight wears on.

Porter fought well. The judges’ scorecards were remarkably consistent. Each judge tallied each round the same except for round eight (which Steve Weisfeld and Dave Moretti scored for Porter and Max DeLuca gave to Crawford). After nine rounds, the cards stood at 87-84, 86-85, 86-85 in Terence’s favor. But on a more primal level, Crawford had established his dominance.

The end came in round ten. Fifteen seconds into the stanza, a sharp right uppercut landed flush on Porter’s jaw and dropped him to the canvas. Shawn rose at the count of three. Crawford went after him and connected with a crushing straight left followed by three more head shots of varying severity that downed Porter for the second time. This time, Shawn was up at seven. Referee Celestino Ruiz was assessing the situation when Kenny Porter (Shawn’s trainer and father) stepped onto the ring apron and stopped the fight.

I understand my dad’s position,” Shawn said at the post-fight press conference. “I took too many shots right there, clean. And that’s not what we do. It was bad defense, hands were down. Part of me wanted to get back and was careless. And then the other part of me was a little out of it and not able to defend myself quick enough.”

Shawn then announced his retirement from boxing. Let’s hope he stands by that decision.

As for the future; the fight that most boxing fans want to see next is Crawford vs. Errol Spence. But it appeared as though Spence didn’t want to fight Crawford before. And most likely, he doesn’t want to fight him now.

At the post-fight press conference on Saturday night, Porter (who lost a split decision to Spence in 2019) observed, “Terence is different. It’s like you can’t really pick up everything it is that he does. He does everything more than exceptionally well. Going twelve rounds with Errol Spence was not as tough as fighting Terence Crawford. He’s the best out of everybody I have been in the ring with.”

And Crawford seems to have given up on the idea that Spence will step in the ring with him, saying, “That fight is past me pushing. I did everything that I possibly can do to try to make that fight happen. Everybody kept saying, ‘Oh, I’m chasing him. I’m this and I’m that.’ Yeah, I was chasing him. And he don’t want the fight. He was saying he wanted the fight, but he really didn’t want the fight. And my thing was just, if you wanted the fight, you could’ve made the fight happen. I really don’t see us fighting, to tell you the truth. Sometimes you just let those fights pass you by.”

Spence, of course, is promoted by Al Haymon, who also has other potential high-profile opponents for Crawford under contract. But it remains to be seen whether Haymon’s big-money names will be willing to risk their titles and physical wellbeing against Terence.

As for his promotional future, Crawford declared at the post-fight press conference, “I’m pretty sure my decision is made already. I’m moving forward with my career right now and I wish everybody the best.”

But Top Rank has done an excellent job of building Crawford to this point. And if Terence wants big-money guarantees going forward, he might have to wait for Canelo Alvarez’s promotional situation to play out before getting clarity with regard to his own situation.

Canelo has said that he’s happy with his status as a free agent. After all but disappearing on DAZN for six consecutive fights, he generated an estimated 800,000 pay-per-view buys for his November 6 outing against Caleb Plant. Signing Canelo is a goal for every major network and promoter in boxing. Based on his showing against Plant (in the ring and economically), a network might decide to throw an irresistible amount of money at him (as DAZN did several years ago).

Canelo, because of the opponents he has faced, deserves today’s #1 pound-for-pound ranking. But Crawford is in the conversation. Meanwhile, Terence has some thoughts that merit consideration in closing:

*         “A lot of people are born with the urge to win everything. That’s me. Some people are born with more heart. You can’t teach heart. You can’t teach somebody to take punches. Some people are just born with natural ability and God-gifted skills. I believe that I’m one of them.”

*         “Me as a fighter, a lot of people on the outside can see something different. ‘Oh, I see this and I see that. I can exploit this kind of defense and do this with Terence Crawford.’ Then, when they get in the ring with me, I’m totally different. Seeing something and being in the ring is two totally different things.”

*         “I look at most of the critics, you know, they don’t even know too much about boxing. They just go on what the next person saying or what they read and what they hear. They not going on they own boxing knowledge. So, I don’t really too much bother to care what critics say or how they view me and how they rate me.”

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – Broken Dreams: Another Year Inside Boxing – was published by the University of Arkansas Press. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, he was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank via Getty images

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Robeisy Ramirez Wins the WBO World Featherweight Strap; Outpoints Dogboe

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Top Rank was at the Hard Rock Hotel-Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma tonight with a card that aired on ESPN+. The featured bout was a match between two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez and former 122-pound world titlist Isaac Dogboe. At stake was the WBO world featherweight title vacated by Emanuel Navarrete.

It was the 13th pro fight for Ramirez, a Cuban defector and the last man to defeat Shakur Stevenson, and his extensive amateur pedigree plus the coaching of his head trainer Ismael Salas translated into a winning performance. In truth, Ramirez didn’t do a lot offensively, but he was very elusive and landed the cleaner punches in a tactical fight. The judges had it 119-110, 118-108, and 117-110.

A 29-year-old southpaw, Ramirez sealed the win with a knockdown in the final round, albeit Dogboe wasn’t hurt after being caught off-balance with a glancing left hook. It was the twelfth straight win for Ramirez who lost his pro debut in a shocker. Dogboe, who had won four straight after suffering back-to-back losses to Navarrete, falls to 24-3.

Co-Feature

In a featherweight fight characterized by a lot of punches – more than 1500 combined – but actually little in the way of fireworks, SoCal’s Joet Gonzalez, a former two-time world title challenger, rebounded from a loss by split decision to Isaac Dogboe with a wide decision over compatriot Enrique Vivas who ended the fight looking as if he may have suffered a broken jaw. The judges had it 99-91 and 98-92 twice.

Gonzalez improved to 26-3 (15). The hard-trying Vivas, who has fought primarily in Northern Mexico, falls to 22-3.

Other Bouts of Note

In an 8-rounder contested at the catchweight of 152 pounds, Jahi Tucker, a 20-year-old Brooklyn-born Long Islander, overcame early adversity and a point deduction for hitting on the break to score a unanimous decision over Nikoloz Sekhniashvili.

Sekhniasvili, from the Republic of Georgia, came out smoking and repeatedly found a home for his left uppercut. But Tucker, who improved to 10-0 (5), weathered the storm and had more gas in his tank. All three judges had it 77-74. It was the second loss for Sekhniashvili who was competing in his tenth pro fight.

In an 8-round heavyweight affair, Jeremiah Milton, a local product advanced to 9-0 (6) at the expense of late sub Fabio Maldonado, a 43-year-old Brazilian. Milton won all eight rounds on two of the scorecards and six rounds on the other, but was yet unimpressive, rarely throwing more than one punch at a time. “He left a lot on the table,” in the words of TV commentator Andre Ward.

Maldonado, who has an MMA background, has an interesting record (29-7, 28 KOs) but is only 7-7 (0-6 on the road) since returning to boxing in 2016 after a six-year hiatus. Against Milton, who was profiled in these pages when his pro career was just getting started, Maldonado had two points deducted for rough tactics and did more posturing than boxing.

In an 8-round junior welterweight contest, Delante “Tiger” Johnson, a U.S. Olympian in Tokyo, advanced to 8-0 (5) with a unanimous decision over Alfonso Olvera, 33-year-old father of four from Tucson. Johnson won every round, but Olvera (12-8-3) had his moments and the bout was more competitive that one would have gleaned from the 80-72 scorecards.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank via Getty Images

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Anthony Joshua Outpoints Jermaine Franklin in a Dreary Fight in London

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Amid the holding and grappling former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua got the win by unanimous decision against the shorter Jermaine Franklin to finally return to the win column after more than two years on Saturday.

It wasn’t pretty.

“I should have knocked him out, but it’s done,” said Joshua.

If not for the constant holding allowed by the referee, England’s Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs) might have stopped America’s Franklin (21-2, 14 KOs) at the O2 Arena in London. Instead, after 12 mostly dreary rounds it ended in a decision win.

“Jermain has a good duck and dive style,” said Joshua. “Respect to him. He done well.”

The last time Joshua won a fight was December 2020 against Kubrat Pulev by knockout. Since that time the tall, muscular former heavyweight titlist lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk.

Joshua had claimed he would retire if he lost again.

For the first half of the fight both heavyweights used the jab with Joshua snapping off some long right crosses behind it. Immediately Franklin would counter with his own rights and would land.

But most of the first few rounds were from a distance.

“When people come to fight me, they muster up a different kind of energy,” said Joshua about Franklin’s ability to compete 12 rounds. “He’s here to prove himself. He’s not here to roll over.”

Action really increased around the fifth round with Franklin more intent on getting inside against the much taller Joshua. But every time he charged in the British fighter would grab his arms and hold until the referee broke it up.

Franklin withstood some big shots, especially from Joshua’s right uppercuts. But as the rounds mounted up the American fighter’s counters became fewer and fewer.

The entire remainder of the fight was Joshua hitting and holding Franklin’s attempts to fight inside. Though referee Marcus McDonnell advised both fighters to stop the holding, but he never followed up and that allowed the heavyweight fight to slow to a crawl until the final round.

Joshua would fire off a jab then grab ahold of Franklin’s attempts to counter. It became a dreary fight and the referee allowed the contest to continue in monotony.

Franklin shared part of the blame by charging in with his arms extended. If he kept his hands tucked in there would be nothing to hold, but for almost the remainder of the fight hitting and holding was the scenario played out.

In the final round the holding stopped and both fighters exchanged brisk blows. But Franklin seemed more tired than Joshua who stepped in the prize ring heavier than ever. The extra weight did not faze him. Joshua was able to absorb the few big blows from Franklin.

After 12 rounds one judge scored it 118-111, and two others 117-111 all for Joshua.

The win allows fans to dream of an all-British clash between Joshua and Tyson Fury.

“It would be an honor to fight for the WBC title,” said Joshua. “You know me I try to provide for the fans. I know who the fans want.”

Other Bouts

Ammo Williams (14-0, 10 KOs) needed a few rounds to figure out England’s River Wilson-Bent before forcing a stoppage at 1:01 of the eighth round of the middleweight fight. Williams was able to floor Wilson-Bent in the seventh round but overall had a rugged six rounds before figuring out the taller British fighter.

Olympic gold medalist Galal Yafai (4-0, 3 KOs) scored a win by knockout over Mexico’s Moises Calleros (36-11-1) in the fourth round in a flyweight match.

In a heavyweight fight, Fabio Wardley (16-0, 15 KOs) won by knockout over American Michael Polite-Coffee (13-4) when referee Howard Foster suddenly stopped a flurry by the British fighter though no knockdown was scored.

Campbell Hatton (11-0, 4 KOs) scored a knockout via body shot over Louis Fielding (10-8) at 1:29 of the first round. The son of boxing great Ricky Hatton used a left hook to the liver to get the stoppage.

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Rest In Peace Ken Buchanan

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We don’t get many great ones in Scotland. Ken Buchanan, who was confirmed to have died today, was one of them, having held the lightweight championship of the world in the highly competitive era of the 1970s, losing it to perhaps the finest champion of them all in the shape of Roberto Duran – and in questionable circumstances at that.

The temptation is to tell the wonderful story of Ken Buchanan in three fights, and I will succumb to that temptation, saying in addition only that the determination and dignity that Buchanan held in his difficult later years impressed me almost as much as his wonderful fighting career. That he did great things in tartan shorts often despite of and not because of a country that failed to support him as richly as he deserved. That the British Boxing Board of Control’s failure to recognise him as world champion when literally the whole of the rest of the boxing universe did is the most shameful decision in the history of that storied organisation. Ken had nothing like the financial, administrative, promotional, and sometimes fistic help that he should have had. Buchanan, perhaps more than any of the great British fighters, achieved what he achieved alone.

That is why we find Buchanan at his mother’s funeral in the late 1960s essentially retired from the sport before he has even been tested. Buchanan was not a very Scottish fighter. He didn’t wade in, workmanlike, “honest”, aggressive; that was his lightweight rival, another fine Scottish fighter named Jim Watt, but it was not Ken. Ken boxed with grace and flamboyance, chose distance, and controlled it, he made superfluous moves and eschewed economy. The style hid iron. Buchanan was stopped just once and that loss had absolutely nothing to do with his chin, as we shall see. Motivated by his remembrance of his mother’s belief that he was made to do something in the sport of boxing, he set out once again in search of greatness. Almost immediately he was robbed in his attempt to win the European lightweight championship from Miguel Velazquez, out in Spain. The great Scottish sportswriter Hugh McIlvanney wryly noted that the Spaniard would have had to have produced a death certificate to lose a fight that Buchanan clearly deserved to win.

Throughout Ken’s career, money men, among them the top British promoter Bobby Neil, tried to change his style, turn him into a workman’s puncher, but Ken just calmly turned them away, choosing his moves based upon freedom rather than cash. This is what made the fast turnaround after the Velazquez debacle so fascinating to me. Buchanan was essentially waiting for a stay-busy fight after winning the British title when he was called directly by Jack Solomons, probably the best-connected promoter and fixer in the country at that time.

“How would you like to fight for the world title you Scots git?” was Jack’s opening gambit; Ken thought that Jack had called him up as a joke, promoted by his father, Ken’s constant companion but a man fond of a joke. Jack explained clearly – the people who handled world champion Ismael Laguna were after a soft touch; a stand-up boxer who wouldn’t give Laguna any trouble, a “patsy” in the parlance of the time. Buchanan was furious.

“A patsy?  Is that what they think of me in America? Get me the fight Jack and I’ll show these people what us Scottish patsies are like.”

Buchanan’s date with destiny was set for September 26, 1970 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. To further discomfort the Scotsman the fight would be fought at 2pm with temperatures soaring to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. “I knew there was no promoter in Britain ready to put up money for me to have a shot at the title,” he remembered in his 2000 biography The Tartan Legend, “so I’d have to go for this in a big way.”

The champion, Ismael Laguna, was a wonderful fighter. In 1965 he had defeated the mighty Carlos Ortiz in a narrow decision that must be seen to be believed. Laguna inverted his combinations, turned square against the lethal Ortiz to lead with his right, a baffling, extraordinary execution. It remains one of the finest maverick performances I’ve ever seen against a genuine all-time great and although Ortiz avenged himself and reclaimed his title, when Ortiz was out of the picture Laguna once again rose to the top. Buchanan and his father developed an audacious plan that only another maverick could conceive of: they would travel 4,000 miles from home and outbox this man to a 15-round decision.

Buchanan, in many ways, was ahead of his time and that he was undertaking sprints as interval training in the build-up to the San Juan contest may have been the single most important factor (outside of his brilliance) in winning that fight. Bathed in sweat and “unable to fill my lungs with air” Ken battled the oppressive heat as keenly as he did his opposition in the ring. This training mirrored Ken’s style in the ring – movement, control of the distance, then lengthy combination punching or a period of infighting under maximum commitment, then back on his toes. Almost as important was may have been the shuffling of the officials prompted by Ken’s manager, Eddie Thomas, who had heard that a judge and referee had been imported by Laguna’s team for the occasion.

Ken boxed early and was perhaps out-pecked – he stepped in to provide pressure through eight and the fight was balanced on a knife-edge and remained there through twelve. What really made the difference in this fight was not Ken’s skills and quickness and what is perhaps the most cultured left hand in the history of British boxing, but his decision in the championship rounds to attack. “By the twelfth round we are both tired.  Really lead-weight tired. But Laguna won’t give in…I decide to change my tactics.  I decide to go for him.”

It was just enough. Ken Buchanan became the new lightweight champion of the world by split decision, both his eyes closed and “at the limit of [his] endurance.”

Buchanan fought his first defence in February of 1971, outpointing Ruben Navarro in LA and fought his second and last defence in a rematch against Laguna. Made in New York, this battle was every bit as torrid as the first, a savage cut to his left eye hampering him throughout and forcing an adjustment that is every bit as much a part of Buchanan’s legend for me as his forthcoming meeting with Roberto Duran. His legendary jab hampered by that damage to the left eye, Buchanan fought squarer, just as Laguna had against Ortiz all those years ago, the injury forcing him in to what McIlvanney called the “slugger’s stance.” I’ll bow to his summary of this fight:

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“Most boxers, faced with the demand for such an adjustment, would make a respectable lunge at it for a few minutes, then sag into resignation. The Scottish world champion, whose blindingly sudden and confusingly flexible left jab is not only his most telling weapon but the triggering mechanism for all his best combinations, might have been forgiven if he had gone that way…far from wilting he gained in assurance and authority as the fight moved into the final third of the contest. Time and again he turned back the spidery aggression of Laguna.”

For Buchanan, I’m sure it was nice just to have McIlvanney in attendance. Almost no British press had followed him east for his shot at the title and the reception at home was underwhelming, not least by the BBBC’s preposterous stand over Buchanan’s championship honours. Now, he had earned his status as one of Britain’s great champions.

It is a status he enjoyed at the time of his death today at age 77, a year after his diagnoses with dementia, a status he will always enjoy despite his loss of his lightweight title in his next defence against his nemesis, Roberto Duran.

Duran stopped Ken Buchanan in the thirteenth round of their 1972 Madison Square Garden match, but it is time now to be explicit: the refereeing in this fight was questionable. Johnny LoBianco allowed Duran to foul Buchanan throughout. Sports Illustrated adjudged from ringside that Duran “used every part of his anatomy, everything but his knee” in his pursuit of the title.

Buchanan was even more direct: “I thought I signed up for a wrestling match, not a boxing contest.  He hit me in the balls a couple of times without so much as a nod from the referee.”  In the thirteenth, Buchanan, trailing on the cards, felt he had one of his better rounds but at the bell, “I turn towards my corner and in the same moment Duran lunges…with a punch that went right into my balls.” The punch was so hard that it split Buchanan’s protector. Examined by a doctor after the fight he was found to have significant swelling of the testicles. The referee, incredibly, didn’t even admonish Duran for throwing a fight-finishing punch after the bell while simultaneously claiming that the punch had been “to the solar plexus.”

To be clear, Duran was better than Buchanan. It’s almost impossible to envisage Buchanan turning the fight around and however he personally felt about the thirteenth, if he received four rounds on a scorecard, that scorecard would be generous. But it is also wrong to see anyone drop his title in such circumstances and the unfortunate event saw the beginning of Buchanan’s slide from relevancy and then, later, mental health. He waited by the phone for far too long for Duran to call him up and offer a rematch. Whatever is to be made of it, Duran had no interest in providing one, and in Buchanan’s defence, it’s probable that he never fought a fighter as good as Ken during the whole of the rest of his lightweight reign. Buchanan took it badly, so badly he even flew to North America in the 1990s to see if he could track Duran down and have it out with him. Fortunately, Buchanan didn’t get much further than some downtown bars where he was still fondly remembered by some of the patrons.

Buchanan’s life post-boxing was difficult, but never pitiful.  He was proud and however difficult things got, he remained proud. Last year, and just in time, he was in attendance as a statue of him was unveiled on Leith Walk in Edinburgh where he ran as a boy.

Gone now, he will never be forgotten in Scotland. Blessed with speed and great heart he made of himself what he could and it turned out to be just about as much as a Scottish fighter has ever made of himself. To end I offer a quote from The Fight Game In Scotland, a book written by Brian Donald who himself boxed Buchanan when both were Edinburgh teenagers. Brian ran 0-3 but began a lifelong friendship with Buchanan who was always ready to offer the hand of friendship to his defeated opponents.

“Buchanan, like a top-grade malt whisky, held his own in any foreign environment no matter how distant he was from his native shores…he was and remains one of the most accomplished British fighters to fight in foreign rings. His ring style was in some respects a metaphor for his own personality, elusive and tough, and the soaring singularity of his talent was matched by an equally single-minded determination that nobody, but nobody, knew better than Kenny Buchanan what was good for him.”

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